What is the preferred lowering/sport spring setup for a 1974 164? Anyone have any experience with a set?
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74 164E auto -- looking to convert to manual M410

you could always use some stock car springs. i use them on my cars. they are dirt cheap around $10-$50 you will have to know stock pring rates and corner weights of the car to get the ride height and rate you want.

for an example on my 142 the stock rates were 90# rear #300 front. remeber that the motion ratio of the front is roughly a third of the spring rate. so a #300 pound spring is only 100 at the wheels.

im running #800 pound 9.5 inch springs in the front. they lower the car about an inch. they are about the limit for a strret car, itb cars use up to 1000#
in the rear i have 250# 11 inch springs witch also lower the car about an inch. they are way too harsh for most people but i like the way they feel.

another note about going to lower stiffer springs is to make sure the shocks are up to the job. if you were to use even off the shelf lowering springs and stock shocks the car would probably not handle that well.

Vintage Performance Developments in upstate New York has springs & other performance parts. I haven't tried them myself, however, I have seen no negative remarks about any of his products. Here is a link to VPD

Thanks for the link. I've got a friend who tried those springs on his 164 and said the front was way too low . . . to the point of being unmanageable.

Also, FYI to all those here, Vintage Performance Developments does a marvelous job of NEVER responding to any emails you submit. I think I'm going on months now with no response . . .
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74 164E auto -- looking to convert to manual M410

Try using an ISP email account to contact him. If his spam filter is anything like mine it probably ditches anything that comes from free email providers like yahoo, msn, etc.

Your freind probably used the Progressive rate springs for the 140, which would definitely not work right on a much heavier 164 front suspension. VPD also sells fixed rate springs in a variety of spring rates, and spacers to adjust ride height. My VPD springs in my 122 sedan totally improved the drivability.

FYI, I have had a response within a couple of days to all of the many emails I have sent. If John is not responding to your emails I would guess he has a spam filter that doesn't like your email provider.

Lee
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"The thing about my blind spots, I just don't tend to notice them" Dave Minor

I have spoken to the people at Vintage numerous times, they are very helpful, have replied within the same week. As for your friend, perhaps he should have researched his springs better, the people at Vintage have been very helpful promoting dialogue in determining my spring needs and while I havent put the springs on my 142 yet I have confidence in their expertise. You may try to contact them again. As for their contact you must understand that they are a small operation who does development, manufacturing, racing, installation, etc. The owner answers the emails himself, so considering their nationwide and perhaps worldwide notability they are not able to contact potential clients as quickly as IPD which has people twiddaling their fingers, waiting to take your calls.

RIV,
I'll second that.
Bob S.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions, especially about using a different email account to contact him (I've been using MSN). I think I'll give that a shot and see what happens.

Thanks again!
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74 164E auto -- looking to convert to manual M410